I am truly in full-on study mode now, with my written licensing exam in exactly a month. So my next post after this will likely be Part 3 of my series about the exams, in which I will tell you how I’ve been going about studying/preparing for the exam.

But first, I need to address the last Israel Mystery Photo. As I predicted, it was easier and many of you recognized it or figured it out. And those who did not get it right at least made logical guesses. I hope that this mystery photo is also something many of you will figure out!

Also, hiding the comments until now made it more fun as well, since nobody could see the other responses. So I will continue doing that.

So first and foremost, the correct answer was Hurfeish, a Druze town beneath Nebi Sabalan. And though I didn’t ask what it was a picture of, a few people got that one right: a statue of Sultan al-Atrash.

Israeli History Primer

With thousands of years of history, and tens of historical eras and ruling cultures, a trip to Israel can be confusing for those not versed in the history. It helps a lot to have a general overview before you visit. Even if you don't remember any of it, at least the terms will be vaguely familiar. I wrote a primer for just that purpose.

What is…?

In addition to the different cultures you'll encounter, there are also many unfamiliar terms you may come across in a trip to Israel. I've written a series of blog posts filling in some details about those unique things. These are about the terms that you might hear a lot here, but might never hear anywhere else.